Garage Entrepreneurs

We’ve assembled some top tips for young entrepreneurs from a few of our dedicated members. We asked them: What would be your best advice for a young, passionate entrepreneur or would-be entrepreneur? Joe Ornato – Founder, Ornato Group Create a backstage process.  Write down all the steps that it will take to give your customer the ultimate experience.  Natural sales people tend to “do” what they “know” intuitively, without getting into a well-defined process.  Building a process allows for: consistency, duplication, […] Continue Reading Best Advice for Young Entrepreneurs

As the holiday season comes to an end, we wanted to share with you a few observations that we made. All of the following ten pictures were taken on our phones over the past few weeks: 1.  If you’re going to offer ‘on line’ shopping, can you please spell it correctly? 2. This is a picture of a Staples employee carrying a computer chair across an intersection, into a grocery store parking lot for a customer.  Talk about great customer service! 3. […] Continue Reading Our Holiday Observations

The holiday season is a great time for young entrepreneurs. It’s a time to brush up your skills, take some time to think about the upcoming year, and who knows, maybe even relax a bit. Here are our top ten suggestions for young entrepreneurs this holiday season: 10. Ask for a magazine subscription. Although blogs are great resources, a magazine that you can throw on your desk or at your bedside makes for a great gift. Try Inc. Magazine or Fast […] Continue Reading Ten Tips for Young Entrepreneurs for the Holidays

The absolute best way to find a good idea is to look for a good idea. As an EIT (Entrepreneur-in-Training), you need to realize that a great business idea will never just ‘fall into your lap’.  In my experience, and from speaking to successful young entrepreneurs, you must actively partake in an ideation process. There are many places that you can look for a good idea, but some of my favorites have been included in a past post that I wrote on Entrepreneurial […] Continue Reading Young Entrepreneurs: To Find a Good Idea, LOOK For One!

I recently had a chance to interview entrepreneur and Canadian native, Ben Yoskovitz, Co-Founder of Standout Jobs and the man behind ‘Instigator Blog’. Ben has been an entrepreneur for 12+ years in the Web space, working extensively in web and software development. I had a chance to ask Ben a few questions about his experiences as an entrepreneur. Eric: How did you start out as an entrepreneur? Ben: I started my first company in 1996 while I was still at McGill University. […] Continue Reading Interview with Co-Founder of Standout Jobs, Ben Yoskovitz

For young entrepreneurs, it’s difficult to take that first step – but it doesn’t have to be. That first step doesn’t necessarily mean assembling a business plan, and it doesn’t even have to mean committing to an idea. In fact, the first step for some (and perhaps most) could be getting in the entrepreneurial mindset and staying on top of current trends. But where do you find entrepreneurial resources? There are a number of resources that we use on a daily […] Continue Reading Resources for Young Entrepreneurs

Can someone learn to be an entrepreneur? Whether or not someone can learn, in a class room setting, the skills to become a successful entrepreneur is intensely debated. There are those who say you cannot learn how to be an entrepreneur, you simply have to learn by doing. On the opposite side of the spectrum, there are those who say you can learn basic entrepreneurial skills, and you can study the mistakes of others to avoid making them on your own. […] Continue Reading “Learning” Entrepreneurship

Marketing for entrepreneurs isn’t as simple as it used to be. Marketing media is changing daily, and under the influence of social media, marketing will never be the same. This post is not a cutting-edge way to advertise your new business, it’s a look at the information you need to know to make marketing decisions. Marketing is the connection that you have with your customers. You need to understand your customers in order to reach them effectively. To change things up […] Continue Reading Garage Entrepreneurs Business Planning Blog Series: Part 6 (Entrepreneurial Marketing)

Whether you realize it or not, cash is the lifeblood of your business. During the ‘prove it’ stage having no cash could be a godsend. Having little cash forces you to make tough decisions, and really think about how you spend every dollar. However, you must also ensure that you have enough money to cover the cash demands of the start-up phase: Can you pay your website developer on time? Can you repair your lawnmower to continue providing your lawn care […] Continue Reading Garage Entrepreneurs Business Planning Blog Series: Part 5 (Managing Cash Flow)

Michael Phelps is a phenomenal athlete. He has won 14 career Olympic gold medals, the most by any Olympian. As of 2008, he holds seven world records in swimming. At the 2008 Beijing Games, Phelps took home eight gold medals. He won the World Swimmer of the Year Award in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008 – and earned Sports Illustrated magazine’s Sportsman of the Year Award in 2008. Although Phelps has had some amazing individual accomplishments, he was […] Continue Reading Michael Phelps Is A Team Player